The new Superman movie has its name, and its bad guy.

Warner Brothers announced on Sunday that the film, now officially titled “Man of Steel,” will feature Michael Shannon as the evil General Zod. He’ll face off against Henry Cavill, the franchise’s new Superman.

While Zod has a number of story lines, he was the fascist head of the military on Krypton, Superman’s home planet. He was portrayed by Terrence Stamp in the first and second Christopher Reeves Superman films, acting as the main villain in the second film.

“Zod is not only one of Superman’s most formidable enemies, but one of the most significant because he has insights into Superman that others don’t. Michael is a powerful actor who can project both the intelligence and the malice of the character, making him perfect for the role,” the film’s director, Zack Snyder, said in a statement.

Shannon, star of “Boardwalk Empire” and an Academy Award nominee for his turn in “Revolutionary Road,” joins an already star-studded cast in Snyder’s film reboot of the beloved comic book. Amy Adams was recently cast as Lois Lane, while Diane Lane and Kevin Costner will play Martha and Pa Kent.

Snyder spoke about his vision for the film in March, giving a just a few hints to the Los Angeles Times.

“Literally, the one thing that everyone can start to think about is that we’re making a movie that finally goes with the approach that there’s been no other Superman movies,” Snyder told the paper. “If you look at ‘Batman Begins,’ there’s that structure: there’s the canon that we know about and respect, but on other hand there’s this approach that pre-supposes that there haven’t been any other movies. In every aspect of design and of story, the whole thing is very much from that perspective of ‘Respect the canon but don’t be a slave to the movies.’”

Here’s the press release from Warner Brothers:

BURBANK, CA, April 10, 2011 – Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures announced today that Michael Shannon will star in the role of General Zod in director Zack Snyder’s new Superman film, titled “Man of Steel.”Snyder stated, “Zod is not only one of Superman’s most formidable enemies, but one of the most significant because he has insights into Superman that others don’t. Michael is a powerful actor who can project both the intelligence and the malice of the character, making him perfect for the role.”

As General Zod, Shannon will go toe-to-toe with Henry Cavill, who plays the new Clark Kent/Superman in the film. The main cast also includes Amy Adams as Lois Lane, and Diane Lane and Kevin Costner as Martha and Jonathan Kent.

Michael Shannon was honored with an Academy Award® nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Sam Mendes’ “Revolutionary Road,” with Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. Shannon was most recently seen in the award-winning HBO drama series “Boardwalk Empire,” from executive producer Martin Scorsese. He will next be seen in Sony Pictures Classics’, “Take Shelter,” from director/writer Jeff Nichols.

Charles Roven, Emma Thomas, Christopher Nolan and Deborah Snyder are the producers of the film. The screenplay is being written by David S. Goyer based on a story by Goyer and Nolan. Thomas Tull and Lloyd Phillips are serving as executive producers.

“Man of Steel” will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

The Easter bunny has hopped into the top spot at the weekend box office.

Russell Brand’s family comedy “Hop” debuted at No. 1 with $38.1 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

With Brand providing the voice of the reluctant new Easter bunny, “Hop” bound well beyond the expectations of industry analysts, who had figured the movie would debut in the $25 million range.

Released by Universal, “Hop” matched the year’s best debut, for “Rango,” which opened a month ago with $38.1 million.

Jake Gyllenhaal’s action thriller “Source Code” debuted at No. 2 with $15.1 million. The haunted-house tale “Insidious” opened at No. 3 with $13.5 million.

A Summit Entertainment release, “Source Code” stars Gyllenhaal as an Army officer tracking down a terrorist bomber by entering the mind of a man aboard a train that’s about to be blown up.

“Insidious,” released by Film District, features Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne as a couple with three young children who encounter an eerie force after moving into a new house.

The previous weekend’s top movie, “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules,” fell to No. 4 with $10.2 million, raising its total to $38.4 million.

While “Hop” was among the year’s best openings, it was unable to lift Hollywood out of a box-office slide that has persisted since late last year.

Overall revenues came in at $125 million, solid receipts for this time of year. Yet that was down 30 percent from the same weekend last year, when “Clash of the Titans” had a summer-style blockbuster opening of $61.2 million, according to box-office tracker Hollywood.com.

Revenues so far this year are at $2.3 billion, off 20 percent from 2010, which had an unusual string of hits during a typically slow season for movie theaters.

“Even when we have a really strong weekend like this, we can’t win, again because of last year’s incredible run of big weekend after big weekend early in the year,” said Hollywood.com analyst Paul Dergarabedian.

Despite a slow market, “Hop” might be able to leg it out for a while at theaters, with Easter still three weeks away. A combination of live-action and computer animation, the movie has Brand’s runaway bunny finding refuge with a grown-up slacker (James Marsden).

“When was there ever a really, truly Easter movie like this, about the Easter bunny that was kid friendly?” said Nikki Rocco, head of distribution for Universal. “I don’t see why it wouldn’t play out up to and including that little Easter Monday.”

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. “Hop,” $38.1 million.
2. “Source Code,” $15.1 million.
3. “Insidious,” $13.5 million.
4. “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules,” $10.2 million.
5. “Limitless,” $9.4 million.
6. “The Lincoln Lawyer,” $7.1 million.
7. “Sucker Punch,” $6.1 million.
8. “Rango,” $4.6 million.
9. “Paul,” $4.3 million.
10. “Battle: Los Angeles,” $3.5 million

Hollywood is in the process of pulling scripts from their Black List, the hottest unproduced screen plays of the year. At the top of their list is Gay Dude. This is a microbudget, under $2 million, film about two best friends, Matty and Michael, who vow to lose their virginity before high school graduation. Things get really interesting when Matty comes out of the closet. The Hollywood Reporter gives the synopsis: “What follows is a funny, heartfelt story about friendship, prejudice, love, and the trials and triumphs of growing up.”

We all remember how awkward high school was. Hormones were changing our bodies; we all tried to fit in, or made it a point not to fit in. We can all identify with coming of age movies because we all have had to grow up and come to terms with who we are. That process happened faster for some of us than others. I don’t really think the gay theme of this movie is going to make this movie popular, but the fact that we can all identify with it will. I wonder if the movie is going to be in the spirit of American Pie. Imagine what hilarious scenes there will be.

Gay Dude was written by Alan Yang, the writer of NBC’s Parks and Recreation. Lawrence Mark, who produced great films like (JULIE & JULIA, DREAMGIRLS, AS GOOD AS IT GETS, JERRY MCGUIRE) is in negotiations to produce the film with Jai Stefan.

Farley Granger, a renowned actor, has died at age 85 of natural causes. Granger was a self-proclaimed bisexual. He stared in two Hitchcock films Rope and Strangers on a Train, both of which had deep gay subtexts. After his mid20th century movie career, Granger became a prominent stage actor. A few of his most memorable performances includes The King and I and Deathtrap.

In 1995 Granger gave an interview to The Celluloid Closet as part of their documentary on homosexuality in cinema. During this interview he admitted to being bisexual. He had several affairs with women such as Shelly Winters and Ava Gardner. Granger ended up having Leonard Bernstein as a life partner. They co-authored Include Me Out, Bernstein died in 2008.

Granger had a very rich and fulfilling life. We should all be so lucky.

Demographics matter. You want to say, well, screw the numbers, let’s just make a movie for everyone! But considering the multiple sources of entertainment in our multimedia worlds, whatever doesn’t automatically turn us on will turn us off. Because of this, Zack Snyder’s “Sucker Punch” turned people off. It was an action fantasia, a genre normally attractive to teenage boys, but it featured only girls, an immediate turnoff for that demographic. And it didn’t appeal to women, who noticed the marketing campaign centered around cacophonous violence and mayhem, not usually a drawing point for females. It wasn’t made for kids, but the heavily-CGI’d special effects made it look like a candy-coated kids’ entertainment to adults. Four quadrants, all disinterested.

Now “Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules,” there’s a film that plays to certain demographics. Specifically kids, tweens and early teens who know the source material and had been marketed to extensively on cable networks. Here’s a KID’S movie, FOR kids, WITH kids. Hijinks and slapstick, etc. “Wimpy Kid” is a project with no illusions, the second part in what looks like a legit series, rushed out after the decent success of the first film a year ago, and designed specifically with the bottom line in mind. It cost zilch, and after the $22 million opening (roughly equal to its predecessor), a final domestic gross of $50-$60 million means Fox is going to party like a rockstar tonight. In case you were wondering, it’s entirely irrelevant as to whether it’s a good movie or not.

So, here’s what you can do: you can bemoan the death of originality. Few filmmakers have the clout to push an expensive, entirely original project without any names through the studio system. Zack Snyder, who previous adapted comic books and one horror classic, got his shot to make something that everyone knew would be a marketing challenge, but it would serve as a distinct experience for the audience, one that transported them to multiple worlds to see sights created through CGI imagery that, to many audience members, would be wholly new. A big-budget film based on no previous material and, ostensibly, geared to teens, was less-attended than a cheap-looking, low-budget children’s film off the assembly line.

Or, you can celebrate. Snyder, director of primitive, deadly serious blockbuster offal, got to make his definitive auteurist statement. And it was dismal, the enablers (Warner Bros.) now paying in full for this folly. “Sucker Punch” muddies the waters for similarly ambitious original films in the pipeline (and, in this case, it seems the word original should have quotation marks), some made by actual storytellers, and not commercial charlatans like Snyder, who earnestly believes the sledgehammer in his hand is some sort of societal microscope. It was a naked attempt to pander to an always-fickle fanboy audience, and another confirmation that said audience is exceedingly vocal, but fairly tiny in the grand scheme. Simply put, it was a nail in several coffins, some of which shouldn’t be shut. WB just became that much more nervous about 2012’s Snyder-directed “Superman.”

Somewhat surprisingly, muscular holds were posted by last week’s number one, “Limitless,” and the legal drama “The Lincoln Lawyer,” as people over twenty years old needed to see something. With this weekend’s numbers, “Limitless” has out-grossed all three of Relativity’s all-time domestic releases combined, and the film has a shot at scoring $60-$70 million stateside, surprising considering a PG-13 drug movie is kind of an anomaly. “The Lincoln Lawyer” is considerably behind “Limitless,” but the film boasted the week’s best hold, dropping only 22%. It’s too early to tell if this is going to be a significant over-performer, but Lionsgate knows full well that Matthew McConaughey’s lead character appears in several other books, suggesting the support is there for an Alex Cross-type franchise.

“Rango” is now safely above $100 million, though in week four, the film is definitely on the low-end of CGI-toon performers. The film is the highest grossing 2011 release so far, and it’s a lock to cross $200 internationally within the week, but with a reported budget of $135 million (which some suggest is very generous), the film’s going to have to perform strongly on the home video market, since the merchandising and ancillaries aren’t exactly heating up. It’s not exactly “Mars Needs Moms,” but all involved were hoping for a warmer reception. For the record, if you told studio execs in early January that only one 2011 release would cross $100 million by the end of March, they would have started making significantly more affordable vacation plans.

Among alien movies, “Battle: Los Angeles” has out grossed “Paul” globally by more than a 2:1 ratio. And yet, “Paul” is the bigger winner. “Battle,” currently enjoying a healthy life overseas, won’t pass $100 million domestic and might even find difficulty cresting $200 global. “Paul,” however, has pulled in strong overseas receipts, and domestically it will be the biggest of the Simon Pegg-Nick Frost collaborations after this weekend. “Battle” was spearheaded by a massive global marketing campaign, whereas “Paul” was a cheap one-off paying unexpected dividends with a possible $70+ million international tally. “Battle” director Jonathan Liebesman was wise to immediately set up another tent pole (“Wrath Of The Titans”), but the studio takes some heat, considering it was originally looking like the year’s first big springtime blockbuster.

Warner Bros. saves face on “Red Riding Hood” considering the cost, though this is a misfire for all involved with the likely $40 million final. Meanwhile, “The Adjustment Bureau” closes out its theatrical run as a modest success, no doubt a big earner on the DVD market. It was able to leapfrog the disastrous “Mars Needs Moms,” which tumbled in weekend three after Disney definitively cut bait, shedding almost a thousand screens in an attempt to distance themselves from something that just did not work. If this were a western, “Mars Needs Moms” would ride back into town months later for revenge on the distributor that left him to die.

In indie theaters, “Win Win” expanded into twenty-three locations, garnering $471k, a solid $20k per-screen average. Again the week’s best per-screen belonged to the doc “Bill Cunningham New York,” which averaged $23k on three metropolitan screens, though it seems a bit NY-centric to be an expansion candidate. Julian Schnabel‘s “Miral” debuted, grabbing $65k on four screens, while French children’s film “Mia And The Migoo” took home an impressive $17k on only one screen. Speaking of the French, Sony Pictures Classics has continued the slow rollout for “Of Gods And Men,” and the Oscar nominee had its best weekend yet, a $370k tally at 120 screens bringing the film’s total to $2.1 million. Support your local arthouse, boys and girls.

1. Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules (Fox) – $24.4 million
2. Sucker Punch (WB) – $19 million
3. Limitless (Relativity) – $15.2 million ($41 mil.)
4. The Lincoln Lawyer (Lionsgate) – $11 million ($29 mil.)
5. Rango (Paramount) – $9.8 million ($106 mil.)
6. Battle: Los Angeles (Sony) – $7.6 million ($73 mil.)
7. Paul (Universal) – $7.5 million ($25 mil.)
8. Red Riding Hood (WB) – $4.3 million ($32 mil.)
9. The Adjustment Bureau (Universal) – $4.2 million ($55 mil.)
10. Mars Needs Moms (Disney) – $2.2 million ($19 mil.)

Bradley Cooper proved he could open a movie all by himself, as Limitless won the weekend with $19 million, according to studio estimates. The $27 million action thriller, Cooper’s first true star vehicle, had been heavily promoted with commercials during the Super Bowl and some creative viral marketing, such as a YouTube clip in which a man seemingly hacks Times Square’s video screens. The PG-13 film, about a struggling writer whose life is radically upgraded after taking an experimental “smart pill,” earned a respectable “B+” grade from CinemaScore moviegoers.

In second was the Johnny Depp-starring Rango, which dropped only 32 percent for $15.3 million. The animated Western has lassoed $92.6 million in three weeks, and appears to be benefiting from positive word-of-mouth despite its puzzling “C+” CinemaScore rating. Third place went to the alien-invasion movie Battle: Los Angeles. After topping the box office last weekend, the PG-13 action flick nosedived 59 percent for $14.6 million.

In fourth, the Matthew McConaughey crime drama The Lincoln Lawyer debuted to $13.4 million. That’s below the openings of McConaughey’s recent romance pictures, such as Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, Fool’s Gold, and Failure to Launch, but it’s an improvement over the actor’s dramas like We Are Marshall and Two for the Money. The $40 million film particularly appealed to older moviegoers, with 85 percent of its audience being at least 25 years old. And with a solid “A-” score from CinemaScore graders, Lawyer should hold up well the next few weeks.

Also worth noting is that the movie marked the first time a studio partnered with the deal-of-the-day website Groupon. Last Wednesday and Thursday, Lionsgate allowed Groupon users to buy tickets to the film for only $6. About 190,000 tickets were purchased through the promotion, and 40,000 of those tickets were redeemed this weekend. (The tickets are valid throughout the film’s entire run). According to Lionsgate, 89 percent of the Groupon users who saw Lawyer this weekend said they wouldn’t have done so without the discount offer.

Finally, in fifth was the R-rated comedy Paul, about two comic-book geeks (Simon Pegg and Nick Frost) who discover an actual alien (voiced by Seth Rogen). The $40 million movie abducted $13.2 million and garnered a “B+” rating from CinemaScore moviegoers. In particular, those under the age of 18 loved it, giving the film an “A” grade. While Paul‘s opening won’t blow anybody’s mind, it is an improvement over Pegg and Frost’s last two collaborations. Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz debuted to $3.3 million and $5.8 million, respectively, although both films opened at far fewer locations than Paul.

In limited release, the wrestling drama Win Win, starring Paul Giamatti and Amy Ryan, grappled $154,000 from five theaters. And the romantic adaptation Jane Eyre expanded to 26 locations and collected $478,000. Check back next week as Zack Snyder’s fantasy action film Sucker Punch and the comedy sequel you’ve all been waiting for, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules, hit theaters.

1. Limitless — $19.0 mil
2. Rango — $15.3 mil
3. Battle: Los Angeles — $14.6 mil
4. The Lincoln Lawyer — $13.4 mil
5. Paul — $13.2 mil

Moviegoers knew exactly what they were doing when they went to see Unknown, as the Liam Neeson thriller led Saturday’s box office with $8.9 million and is estimated to win at least the Friday-to-Sunday weekend with $21.8 million. 

Unknown has solidified Neeson’s status as an action star, and the 58-year-old Irish actor is drawing a unique crowd. According to Warner Bros., 89 percent of the film’s audience was at least 25 years old, and an astounding 54 percent were over 50. Throw in the fact that many older moviegoers wait a few weeks before heading to the theater, plus the PG-13 film’s “B+” rating from CinemaScore participants, and Unknown could display some impressive long-distance stamina.

However, despite its current No. 1 position, Unknown may wind up losing the four-day holiday weekend to Disney’s Gnomeo & Juliet. The G-rated animated musical nearly doubled its Friday gross with $8.4 million on Saturday, and is estimated to finish the three-day weekend with $19.4 million — a scant 24-percent drop from last weekend. The family film is projected to lead today’s box office, and with kids out of school for Presidents’ Day, it should top Monday’s chart as well. Both Gnomeo and Unknown are on pace for a four-day tally of around $26 million — it could very well be a photo finish.

I Am Number Four, which many thought would be the four-day weekend’s winner, will probably have to settle for third place. The $50 million sci-fi adventure collected an estimated $19.5 million for the three-day weekend, and should finish the holiday frame with a little less than $23 million. The movie’s Friday-to-Saturday jump of 23 percent was the lowest among the top 10, and that’s never an encouraging sign. Unsurprisingly, the PG-13 film was mostly appealing to younger moviegoers, with 68 percent of the audience between the ages of 12 and 34. Its overall CinemaScore was a “B+,” but those under 25 handed Number Four an “A-” grade. Any hope for a sequel rests with those young fans spreading the word and returning to the theater — a lot.

The romantic comedy Just Go With It, starring Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston, slid only 40 percent (most Sandler movies fall around 50 percent) for a three-day estimate of $18.2 million. And Martin Lawrence’s third Big Momma movie, Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son, consumed $17 million during the three-day frame. Add in a Presidents’ Day dessert, and the PG-13 comedy should finish the long weekend with just less than $20 million. Check back here on Monday for the complete box office report.

The following are three-day studio estimates:

1. Unknown — $21.8 mil
2. I Am Number Four — $19.5 mil
3. Gnomeo & Juliet — $19.4 mil
4. Just Go With It — $18.2 mil
5. Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son — $17.0 mil

This weekend was a chance for messianic pop star Justin Bieber to show he reigns supreme not just on Twitter, but where it counts: At the box office. But, alas, it looks like Bieber will need to get cast as Robin in order to get a number 1 slot, since his Never Say Never‘s $30.3 million wasn’t enough to overthrow Adam Sandler’s laziness in Just Go With It‘s $31 million. I predict both Adam Sandler and (after the Grammys) Esperanza Spalding to be found gnawed apart by hordes of teenage girls. It happened to Fatty Arbuckle, look it up.

Outside the top 2, we have this week’s “Can that possibly be a real title?” with Gnomeo and Juliet, which grossed $25.5 million for a number 3 spot. After that is something called The Eagle, which I gotta admit I’d never heard of. Apparently I wasn’t alone, since it only grossed $8.6 million.

Sony has football’s big game all figured out. For the eighth year since 2001, the studio topped Super Bowl weekend, this time with the PG-13 college thriller The Roommate, which debuted to $15.6 million, according to studio estimates. The Single White Female protégé, about a college freshman (Minka Kelly) and her mentally unstable dorm-mate (Leighton Meester), drew a young, female audience: 65 percent was female, and 61 percent was less than 21 years old. With a “B-” rating from CinemaScore moviegoers, though, The Roommate will likely follow in its genre’s footsteps and quickly tumble starting next weekend.

Sanctum, however, better not sink as fast, as the $30 million cave-diving thriller started its expedition with an underwhelming $9.2 million. That figure isn’t as disappointing when you take into account that Universal and Relativity Media paid only $12 million to acquire the film, but when the name James Cameron is linked to a project, one expects more intimidating box-office muscle. Cameron produced the R-rated film, which utilized the same 3-D technology the filmmaker had developed for Avatar. What was expected to be a movie that skewed heavily toward men actually attracted a crowd that was 53 percent female. The audience was on the older side, too, with 65 percent at least 30 years old. But CinemaScore moviegoers gave Sanctum an unpleasant “C+” grade.

In third was the Natalie Portman-Ashton Kutcher romantic comedy No Strings Attached, which fell a slim 37 percent for $8.4 million. The King’s Speech was right behind in fourth place, earning $8.3 million — a 25 percent decline — to bring its cumulative gross to $84.1 million. In fifth, The Green Hornet continued to hold up well for a superhero film, dropping 46 percent for $6.1 million. The Seth Rogen action comedy has so far tallied $87.2 million, and is on pace to become 2011′s first $100 million picture. Last week’s winner, The Rite, will be lucky to reach a third of that. The Anthony Hopkins horror film descended 62 percent this weekend for $5.6 million. Its two-week total stands at $23.7 million.

In limited release, Waiting for Forever may have to do just that to find its audience. The Rachel Bilson-Tom Sturridge romance opened to a paltry $10,200 from three theaters. Check back next week as four new movies — the Roman action film The Eagle, the animated Gnomeo and Juliet, the Adam Sandler-Jennifer Aniston romantic comedy Just Go With It, and the Canadian spectacle Justin Bieber: Never Say Never — battle to the death for your attention.

1. The Roommate — $15.6 mil
2. Sanctum — $9.2 mil
3. No Strings Attached — $8.4 mil
4. The King’s Speech — $8.3 mil
5. The Green Hornet — $6.1 mil
6. The Rite — $5.6 mil

Anthony Hopkins led the North American box office on Sunday with the exorcism thriller “The Rite,” while newly minted Oscar nominees such as front-runner “The King’s Speech” enjoyed a boost in business.

“The Rite” sold about $15 million worth of tickets in the three days since it opened across the United States and Canada on Friday, distributor Warner Bros. said.

Even though critics lambasted the movie, the opening was within the Time Warner Inc unit’s expectations. The film cost about $40 million to make.

Also new was a remake of the assassination thriller “The Mechanic,” starring English action hero Jason Statham, which tied at No. 3 with former box office champion “The Green Hornet,” each reporting about $11.5 million.

Last weekend’s champ, the Natalie Portman-Ashton Kutcher romantic comedy “No Strings Attached,” slipped to No. 2 with $13.7 million, taking its 10-day total to $39.7 million.

“The King’s Speech,” which received 12 Oscar nominations on Tuesday, saw a 41 percent boost in business from last weekend, grossing $11.1 million. But with two new releases ahead of it, the royals drama slipped one place to No. 5.

Among other Oscar nominees in the top 10, “True Grit” (10 nominations) fell one place to No. 6 with $7.6 million, a 4 percent increase from last weekend; “Black Swan” (five nominations) dropped two spots to No. 8 with $5.1 million, off 13 percent; and “The Fighter” (seven nominations) slipped one place to No. 9 with $4.1 million, up 3 percent.